System and method for managing electrical current in a portable computing device

ABSTRACT

An electrical current (“EC”) manager module may assign a plurality of hardware elements of the PCD to one of two groups. The EC manager module may monitor individual electrical current levels of one of the groups as well as calculate an instantaneous electrical current level for the PCD based on a current charge status for the PCD. The EC manager module may then adjust operation of at least one hardware element to keep operation of the PCD below the calculated instantaneous electrical current level for the PCD. The EC manager module may estimate an electrical current level for one of the groups based on requests issued to hardware elements. The EC manager module may also compare the calculated instantaneous electrical current level to the monitored electrical current level. The calculated instantaneous electrical current level may be compared to minimum current levels listed in a table.

PRIORITY AND RELATED APPLICATIONS STATEMENT

This patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/602,951, filed on Feb. 24,2012, and entitled, “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING ELECTRICAL CURRENTIN A PORTABLE COMPUTING DEVICE.” The entire contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Portable computing devices (“PCDs”), like mobile phones, usually havemany rich features that are often accessed and run simultaneously. Suchfeatures are supported by many hardware elements which consumesignificant amounts of power. Power in most PCDs is delivered by one ormore batteries. In mobile phones, like smart phones, this is usually asingle battery having a form factor dictated by the size of the entiremobile phone.

The electrical current draw from the combination of these hardwareelements simultaneously often can be excessively high such that thevoltage across a single battery may drop significantly when hardwareelements are operated simultaneously. Such a significant drop in voltagemay directly impact memory. For example, data within memory may becomecorrupted and may require a system reset in order to correct theproblem. Other hardware elements besides memory within a portablecomputing device may suffer degraded performance when a voltage dropoccurs. For example, audio signals supplied to a speaker may be clippedor become choppy due to a voltage drop. For RF modems, a voltage dropmay equate to phone calls being dropped.

Voltage drops may occur in complex processor environments. Theelectrical current draw for PCDs which have multicore processors may besignificantly higher compared to portable computing devices which onlyutilize single core processors.

A scenario in which significant electrical current draw and resultingvoltage drops occur may include portable computing devices that supportvideo recording simultaneously with the background light being suppliedby light emitting diodes (LEDs). If an instruction intensive applicationis running on a multicore processor and the user desires to use thecamcorder simultaneously with the intensive application while alsoproviding background illumination with LEDs (and while listening tomusic or providing music through speakers), such a multi-featuresituation with conventional portable computing devices may trigger areset condition for the PCDs as described above. This may be especiallytrue for PCDs powered by a single battery that has a form factorcorresponding to the size of the PCD.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system and method thatmanages available electrical current such that PCD functionality isoptimized.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Various embodiments of methods and systems for managing electricalcurrent in a portable computing device (“PCD”) are disclosed. Exemplaryembodiments include an electrical current (“EC”) manager module that mayassign a plurality of hardware elements of the PCD to one of two groups.The EC manager module may monitor individual electrical current levelsof one of the groups as well as calculate an instantaneous electricalcurrent level for the PCD based on a current charge status for the PCD.The EC manager module may then adjust operation of at least one hardwareelement to keep operation of the PCD below the calculated instantaneouselectrical current level for the PCD. The EC manager module may estimatean electrical current level for one of the groups based on requestsissued to hardware elements.

The EC manager module may also compare the calculated instantaneouselectrical current level to the monitored electrical current level. Thecalculated instantaneous electrical current level may be compared tominimum current levels listed in a table. The table may include usecases for the PCD and corresponding minimum electrical current levels.Adjusting operation of at least one hardware element by the EC managermodule may include issuing at least one command to the hardware element.The at least one command may comprise one of degree relative to theoperation of the hardware element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughoutthe various views unless otherwise indicated. For reference numeralswith letter character designations such as “102A” or “102B”, the lettercharacter designations may differentiate two like parts or elementspresent in the same figure. Letter character designations for referencenumerals may be omitted when it is intended that a reference numeral toencompass all parts having the same reference numeral in all figures.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary, non-limitingaspect of a PCD in the form of a wireless telephone for implementingmethods and systems for managing electrical current within a portablecomputing device;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating relationships amongthe EC manager, controller, a resource power manager, master processors,low-level drivers, shared resources, and local resources;

FIG. 3 is a graph which illustrates the state of charge of a battery ofa portable computing device plotted along the X-axis versus batteryvoltage (in Volts) plotted a long a first y-axis and battery impedance(milliohms) plotted along a second y-axis;

FIG. 4 is a graph which illustrates the state of charge of a battery ofa portable computing device projected along the X-axis againstachievable current maximums projected on the Y-axis;

FIG. 5 provides a PCD current level tracking table that may be part of adatabase maintained by the EC manager module;

FIG. 6 is a graph which illustrates the state of charge of a battery ofa portable computing device projected along the X-axis againstachievable current maximums projected on the Y-axis along withelectrical current levels referenced in the table of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a bar chart 700 that illustrates at least three differenttypes of electrical consumers that may be categorized within a portablecomputing device by the EC manager module;

FIG. 8 is a graph 800 which illustrates instantaneous current plotted onthe y-axis versus time on the x-axis in addition to present consumptionof categories of electrical consumers illustrated in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a logical flowchart illustrating a method for managingelectrical current levels within a portable computing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary”is not necessarily to be construed as exclusive, preferred oradvantageous over other aspects.

In this description, the term “application” may also include fileshaving executable content, such as: object code, scripts, byte code,markup language files, and patches. In addition, an “application”referred to herein, may also include files that are not executable innature, such as documents that may need to be opened or other data filesthat need to be accessed.

As used in this description, the terms “component,” “database,”“module,” “system,” “processing component” and the like are intended torefer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, firmware, acombination of hardware and software, software, or software inexecution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being,a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable,a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way ofillustration, both an application running on a computing device and thecomputing device may be a component. One or more components may residewithin a process and/or thread of execution, and a component may belocalized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. In addition, these components may execute from variouscomputer readable media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processessuch as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets(e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in alocal system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as theInternet with other systems by way of the signal).

In this description, the terms “central processing unit (“CPU”),”“digital signal processor (“DSP”),” and “chip” are used interchangeably.Moreover, a CPU, DSP, or a chip may be comprised of one or more distinctprocessing components generally referred to herein as “core(s).”

In this description, the term “call” refers to a request for additionalresources and/or functionality in a PCD over and above that which may berunning at the time of the call. As such, one of ordinary skill in theart will understand that a call may be the result of a PCD userrequesting the PCD to perform some function, provide some service,generate and render some deliverable or the like. Moreover, one ofordinary skill in the art will also understand that a call for a PCDresource may be the result of a given component within the PCDleveraging another component within the PCD to complete a workload task.As a non-limiting example, a user action to open a browser applicationon a PCD may cause calls for additional resources/components in the PCDnot in use at the time of the call such as a modem, a graphicalprocessor and/or a display. One of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that allowing a call for a component or resource may increasebattery demand within a PCD.

In this description, it will be understood that the terms “thermal” and“thermal energy” may be used in association with a device or componentcapable of generating or dissipating energy that may be measured inunits of “temperature.” Consequently, it will further be understood thatthe term “temperature,” with reference to some standard value, envisionsany measurement that may be indicative of the relative warmth, orabsence of heat, of a “thermal energy” generating device or component.For example, the “temperature” of two components is the same when thetwo components are in “thermal” equilibrium.

In this description, the terms “workload,” “process load” and “processworkload” are used interchangeably and generally directed toward theprocessing burden, or percentage of processing burden, associated with agiven processing component in a given embodiment. Further to that whichis defined above, a “processing component” or “thermal aggressor” maybe, but is not limited to, a central processing unit, a graphicalprocessing unit, a core, a main core, a sub-core, a processing area, ahardware engine, etc. or any component residing within, or external to,an integrated circuit within a portable computing device.

In this description, the term “portable computing device” (“PCD”) isused to describe any device operating on a limited capacity powersupply, such as a battery. Although battery operated PCDs have been inuse for decades, technological advances in rechargeable batteriescoupled with the advent of third generation (“3G”) and fourth generation(“4G”) wireless technology have enabled numerous PCDs with multiplecapabilities. Therefore, a PCD may be a cellular telephone, a satellitetelephone, a pager, a PDA, a smartphone, a navigation device, asmartbook or reader, a media player, a combination of the aforementioneddevices, a laptop computer with a wireless connection, among others.

An electrical current (“EC”) manager module of a PCD, such as a mobilephone, may be embodied in software and/or hardware (or both). The ECmanager module may track the state of charge for the battery of the PCD.As understood by one of ordinary skill the art, a battery manifestsdifferent characteristics over time while the battery is discharging.Further, the impedance of a battery may change with temperature. The ECmanager module may monitor the state of charge of the battery of theportable computing device as well as the impedance of the battery at agiven instant so that it can compute the maximum electrical current thata battery may support. The EC manager module may determine the maximumelectrical current “budget” that can be “spent” or used by a portablecomputing device. The EC manager module may also track conditions whenthe portable computing device and its battery are receiving energy froma charger.

The EC manager module may track the state of electrical current drawfrom all active hardware components of a portable computing device. Inother exemplary embodiments, the EC manager module may assign “high”draw electrical current hardware components to a first group and assign“low” draw electrical current hardware components to a second group.According to this exemplary embodiment, the EC manager module maymonitor each hardware component of the first group individually while itmay assign an electrical current budget to the second group of hardwarecomponents and not track the individual electrical current draws of thehardware components in the second group. Stated differently, the ECmanager module may allocate electrical current draw margins to thehardware components of the second group without tracking the individualstates of each hardware component in this second group.

The EC manager module may set maximum electrical current draws forcertain groups of hardware. The EC manager module may communicate one ormore electrical current levels at which a particular hardware device mayoperate. The EC manager module may communicate a range of levels to aparticular hardware device in which each level may be associated withpredefined operations that may be specific to the hardware device.

For example, the EC manager module may communicate to a particularhardware device that it should switch from a high electrical currentlevel of operation to a medium electrical current level of operation.The terms “high” and “medium” communicated by the EC manager module maybe associated with specific operational characteristics of the hardware.In this scenario, the instruction of changing from a “high” level ofoperation to a “medium” level of operation from the EC manager module toan exemplary device, like a processor, may mean that the processor needsto dial back or lower its clock frequency.

The lowering of the clock frequency may effectively lower the electricalcurrent draw of the processor. One of ordinary skill in the artrecognizes that the messages communicated from the EC manager module tothe hardware devices are not limited to the words low, medium or high.Other level designations may include numbers like level 1, level 2, orlevel 3, or alpha numeric codes, etc. The EC manager module may maintaina table that tracks predefined numerical levels, use cases, andpredefined electrical current levels expressed in amperes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, this figure is a functional block diagramillustrating an exemplary embodiment of a portable computing device(“PCD”) 100. An electrical current (“EC”) manager module 26 within PCD100 may leverage knowledge of individual hardware elements associatedwith various software applications in the PCD 100 to manage electricalcurrent. Advantageously, by monitoring the specific electrical currentof a hardware element or a plurality of hardware elements, the ECmanager module 26 may apply electrical current load management with afine grained approach which, when necessary, prioritizes components andtheir associated functions in such a way that the operation of the PCD100 optimized.

As can be seen in the exemplary illustration of FIG. 1, a resource powermanager (“RPM”) 180 monitors and controls power supplied by a battery188 for hardware elements residing within the integrated circuit (“IC”)102. One or more electrical current sensors 157B are configured tomonitor power rails (not illustrated) and generate a signal indicativeof electrical current consumption by the particular component(s)associated with power rails (not illustrated) which feed each of thehardware elements within IC 102. One or more electrical current sensors157B may be positioned on the IC 102 and/or adjacent to the IC 102.

It is envisioned that the electrical current sensors 157B may beconfigured to monitor electrical current and be of a type such as, butnot limited to, a Hall effect type for measuring the electromagneticfield generated by electrical current flowing through a power rail, ashunt resistor current measurement type for calculating electricalcurrent from voltage drop measured across a resistor in the power rail,or any type known to one of ordinary skill in the art. As such, whilethe particular design, type or configuration of a electrical currentsensor 157B that may be used in an embodiment of the systems and methodsmay be novel in, and of, itself, the systems and methods are not limitedto any particular type of electrical current sensor 157B.

Other sensors, such as temperature sensors 157A and 157C may beconfigured for measuring temperature at or near a processing component,the measurement of which may also be used to deduce power consumption bya given component.

As shown, the PCD 100 includes an on-chip system 102 that includes amulti-core central processing unit (“CPU”) 110 and an analog signalprocessor 126 that are coupled together. The CPU 110 may comprise azeroth core 222, a first core 224, and an Nth core 230 as understood byone of ordinary skill in the art. Further, instead of a CPU 110, adigital signal processor (“DSP”) may also be employed as understood byone of ordinary skill in the art.

In general, the EC manager module 26 may be responsible for monitoringelectrical current within PCD 100, predicting impacts on battery loadsand applying electrical current load management techniques to help thePCD 100 optimize its power supply and maintain a high level offunctionality.

The EC manager module 26 communicates with multiple operational sensors(e.g., electrical current sensors 157B, temperature sensors 157A,C, andhardware elements) distributed throughout the on-chip system 102 andwith the CPU 110 of the PCD 100. In some exemplary embodiments, the ECmanager module 26 may also monitor electrical current sensors 157B forcurrent consumption rates uniquely associated with the cores 222, 224,230 and transmit the current consumption data to a database (which mayreside in memory 112). The EC manager module 26 may identify use caseconditions of the PCD 100 that may warrant application of one or moreelectrical current load management techniques to specific hardwareelements within chip 102.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a display controller 128 and a touch screencontroller 128 are coupled to the digital signal processor 110. A touchscreen display 132 external to the on-chip system 102 is coupled to thedisplay controller 128 and the touch screen controller 128. The ECmanager module 26 may monitor workload queues for the cores 222, 224,230, for example, and work with the RPM 180 to manage power provided tothe cores from power supply 188. The EC manager module 26 may monitorelectrical current measurements on power rails from the RPM 180 tocomponents of the on-chip system 102 and calculate present levels ofelectrical draw on the power supply 188, that may comprise a singlebattery and/or an electrical charger for the battery. Advantageously, byquantifying present levels of electrical current loads the EC managermodule 26 may predict electrical current drawn on the battery 188resulting from calls for additional functionality/workloads from one ormore hardware elements within PCD 100.

PCD 100 may further include a video encoder 134, e.g., aphase-alternating line (“PAL”) encoder, a sequential couleur avecmemoire (“SECAM”) encoder, a national television system(s) committee(“NTSC”) encoder or any other type of video encoder 134. The videoencoder 134 is coupled to the multi-core central processing unit (“CPU”)110. A video amplifier 136 is coupled to the video encoder 134 and thetouch screen display 132. A video port 138 is coupled to the videoamplifier 136. As depicted in FIG. 1, a universal serial bus (“USB”)controller 140 is coupled to the CPU 110. Also, a USB port 142 iscoupled to the USB controller 140. A memory 112A and a subscriberidentity module (SIM) card 146 may also be coupled to the CPU 110.Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a digital camera 148 may be coupled to theCPU 110. In an exemplary aspect, the digital camera 148 is acharge-coupled device (“CCD”) camera or a complementary metal-oxidesemiconductor (“CMOS”) camera.

As further illustrated in FIG. 1, a stereo audio CODEC 150 may becoupled to the analog signal processor 126. Moreover, an audio amplifier152 may be coupled to the stereo audio CODEC 150. In an exemplaryaspect, a first stereo speaker 154 and a second stereo speaker 156 arecoupled to the audio amplifier 152. FIG. 1 shows that a microphoneamplifier 158 may also be coupled to the stereo audio CODEC 150.Additionally, a microphone 160 may be coupled to the microphoneamplifier 158. In a particular aspect, a frequency modulation (“FM”)radio tuner 162 may be coupled to the stereo audio CODEC 150. Also, anFM antenna 164 is coupled to the FM radio tuner 162. Further, stereoheadphones 166 may be coupled to the stereo audio CODEC 150.

FIG. 1 further illustrates that a radio frequency (“RF”) transceiver 168may be coupled to the analog signal processor 126. An RF switch 170 maybe coupled to the RF transceiver 168 and an RF antenna 172. As shown inFIG. 1, a keypad 174 may be coupled to the analog signal processor 126.Also, a mono headset with a microphone 176 may be coupled to the analogsignal processor 126. Further, a vibrator device 178 may be coupled tothe analog signal processor 126. FIG. 1 also shows that a power supply188, for example a battery and/or an electrical charger in combinationwith the battery, is coupled to the on-chip system 102 through RPM 180.In a particular aspect, the power supply includes a rechargeable DCbattery or a DC power supply that is derived from an alternating current(“AC”) to DC transformer that is connected to an AC power source.

The CPU 110 may also be coupled to one or more internal, on-chip thermalsensors 157A as well as one or more external, off-chip thermal sensors157C. The on-chip thermal sensors 157A may comprise one or moreproportional to absolute temperature (“PTAT”) temperature sensors thatare based on vertical PNP structure and are usually dedicated tocomplementary metal oxide semiconductor (“CMOS”) very large-scaleintegration (“VLSI”) circuits. The off-chip thermal sensors 157C maycomprise one or more thermistors. The thermal sensors 157C may produce avoltage drop that is converted to digital signals with ananalog-to-digital converter (“ADC”) controller 103. However, other typesof thermal sensors 157A, 157C may be employed without departing from thescope of the invention.

The thermal sensors 157A, 157C, in addition to being controlled andmonitored by an ADC controller 103, may also be controlled and monitoredby one or more EC manager module(s) 26. The EC manager module 26 maycomprise software which is executed by the CPU 110. The EC managermodule 26 may comprise one or more modules. However, the EC managermodule(s) 26 may also be formed from hardware and/or firmware withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. The EC manager module(s) 26may be responsible for monitoring and applying electrical current loadpolicies that include one or more electrical current load managementtechniques that may help a PCD 100 avoid overburdening its power supply188 while maintaining a high level of functionality and user experience.

The touch screen display 132, the video port 138, the USB port 142, thecamera 148, the first stereo speaker 154, the second stereo speaker 156,the microphone 160, the FM antenna 164, the stereo headphones 166, theRF switch 170, the RF antenna 172, the keypad 174, the mono headset 176,the vibrator 178, the power supply 188, the RPM 180 and the thermalsensors 157C are external to the on-chip system 102. However, it shouldbe understood that the EC manager module 26 may also receive one or moreindications or signals from one or more of these external devices by wayof the analog signal processor 126 and the CPU 110 to aid in the realtime management of the resources operable on the PCD 100.

In a particular aspect, one or more of the method steps described hereinmay be implemented by executable instructions and parameters stored inthe memory 112 that form the one or more EC manager module(s) 26. Theseinstructions that form the EC manager module(s) 26 may be executed bythe CPU 110, the analog signal processor 126, or another processor, inaddition to the ADC controller 103 to perform the methods describedherein. Further, the processors 110, 126, the memory 112, theinstructions stored therein, or a combination thereof may serve as ameans for performing one or more of the method steps described herein.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating relationships among acontroller 101, resource power manager 180, master processors 110, 126,low-level drivers 103, shared resources 105A-C, and local resources105D-H that are part of a PCD 100. FIG. 2 also illustrates how thetouchscreen 132 may be coupled to the touchscreen driver/controller 128.The touchscreen driver/controller 128 may be coupled to clock code 113Aof a first master processor 110A.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the first master processor110A may be coupled to the resource power manager (“RPM”) 180 and thecontroller 101. The RPM 180 may be responsible for controlling power tothe hardware elements such as processors 110A-110C. The RPM 180 may alsocontrol power to each resource 105 through its control of low leveldrivers 103. The RPM 180 may execute or run the EC manager module 26when it is embodied as software. Alternatively, the RPM 180 may comprisethe EC manager module 26 when it is embodied as hardware and/or softwareor both.

The EC manager module 26 manages and maintains a database 112B.Exemplary data stored in the database may include, but is not limitedto, a table that tracks predefined numerical levels, use cases, andpredefined electrical current levels expressed in amperes as will bedescribed in further detail below in connection with FIG. 5. With thedatabase 112B, the EC manager module 26 may monitor and trackinstantaneous electrical current levels of the battery 188 and/or anychargers used to replenish the battery 188 with various current sensors157B. The EC manager module 26 may issue commands through the RPM 180 tocontrol current levels of the various hardware elements illustrated suchas the processors 110 and resources 105 as will be described in furtherdetail below.

The controller 101 may be coupled to the clock code 113A of the firstmaster processor 110A. The controller 101 may comprise one or morelow-level drivers 103. The one or more low-level drivers 103 may beresponsible for communicating with one or more shared resources 105A-C.Shared resources 105A-C may comprise any type of device that supportstasks or functions of a master processor 110. Shared resources 105A-Cmay include devices such as clocks of other processors as well as singlefunction elements like graphical processors, decoders, and the like.

The shared resources 105A-C may be coupled to one or more localresources 105D-H. The one or more local resources 105D-H may be similarto the shared resources 105A-C in that they may comprise any type ofdevice that supports or aids tasks or functions of a master processor110. Local resources 105D-H may include devices such as clocks of otherprocessors as well as single function elements like graphicalprocessors, decoders, and the like. The local resources 105D-H maycomprise leaf nodes. Leaf nodes are understood by one of ordinary skillin the art as local resources 105D-H that usually do not refer orinclude other dependent resources 105.

The controller 101 may be responsible for managing requests that areissued from the one or more master processors 110, 126. For example, thecontroller 101 may manage a request that originates from the firstmaster processor 110A. The first master processor 110A may issue thisrequest in response to an operator manipulating the touchscreen 132. Thetouchscreen 132 may issue signals to the touchscreen driver/controller128. The touchscreen driver/controller 128 may in turn issue signals tothe clock code 113A of the first master processor 110A.

The controller 101 may also be responsible for managing the sleep statesfor a particular processor 110. Prior to entering a sleep state, aprocessor 110 will provide information for managing sleep states.Information for managing sleep states includes the entry into andexiting from a sleep state.

FIG. 3 is a graph 300 which illustrates the state of charge of a battery188 of a portable computing device 100 plotted along the X-axis versusbattery voltage (in Volts) plotted a long a first y-axis and batteryimpedance (milliohms) plotted along a second y-axis. The first curve 305of graph 300 tracks the state of charge of a battery 188 of a portablecomputing device 100 operating at 25° C.

Meanwhile, the second curve 310 of graph 300 corresponds with the samebattery 188 of the portable computing device operating at 0° C. Thesecond curve 310 illustrates how battery impedance increases withdecreases in temperature. The third curve 315 tracks the open circuitvoltage of the Battery 188. By tracking the temperature of a portablecomputing device 100, the EC manager module 26 will be able toaccurately calculate the instantaneous electrical current available fromthe battery 188 since the impedance of the battery 188 is a function oftemperature. The EC manager module 26 may store the informationcontained in graph 300 in its database 112B.

FIG. 4 is a graph 400 which illustrates the state of charge of a battery188 of a portable computing device 100 projected along the X-axisagainst achievable current maximums projected on the Y-axis. Asunderstood by one of ordinary skill the art, the impedance of a battery188 may change in response to changes in temperature as discussed abovein connection with FIG. 3.

The first curve 405 of graph 400 tracks electrical current associatedwith a battery 188 operating at a first temperature while the secondcurve 410 tracks electrical current associated with the same battery 188operating at a second temperature. In the exemplary embodimentillustrated in FIG. 4, the first temperature comprises 25° C. while thesecond temperature comprises 0° C.

At higher temperatures, a battery 188 may support more current asindicated by the first curve 405. Meanwhile, at lower temperatures, theimpedance for the same battery 188 increases, which means that the samebattery 188 will support less current as indicated by the second curve410. This information about the electrical current supported by thebattery 188 may be monitored and tracked by the EC manager module 26with its database 112B as will be described in further detail below inconnection with FIGS. 5-6.

FIG. 5 provides a PCD current level tracking table 500 that may be partof a database 112B maintained by the EC manager module 26. The table 500may comprise predefined numerical levels 510 listed in a first column,PCD use cases 515 in the second column, and predefined electricalcurrent levels 520 expressed in Amperes in the third column. However,one of ordinary skill the art recognizes that other data as well asdifferent order or sequences of the data tracked in table 500 may beemployed without departing from the scope of the disclosure describedherein.

Each numerical level 510 in the table 500 may be associated with aparticular PCD use case 515 that relates to functions, features, and/oroperations of specific hardware elements within the portable computingdevice 100. For example, level 0 (zero) may be associated with abaseline functionality. Meanwhile, level 1 may include the functionalityof level 0 in addition to a CPU operating at a “low performance.” Level2 may include the functions/features/operations of level 1 in additionto a Feature X, where X may be specified by the operator of the PCD 100and/or manufacturer of the PCD 100.

The minimum current level 520 assigned to each use case 515A for levels0, 1, and 2 are 2.0 amps, 2.5 amps, and 2.7 amps respectively. Andso-on. The minimum current level 520 for each row/level 510 of table 500may be determined by the EC manager 26, the manufacturer of the PCD 100,and/or the operator of the PCD 100.

The EC manager module 26 may determine the instant current maximum forthe portable computing device 100 and then communicate operational levelmessages to its various hardware devices under its control. For example,at the level 1 row of table 500 the EC manager module 26 may communicateto a multicore processor 110 that it may operate one of its cores, likezero core 222 of FIG. 1, at a low level which translates to thenon-turbo mode expressed in table 510.

The EC manager module 26 may easily produce the data listed in table 510and/or the data may be calculated under laboratory conditions and thenloaded into memory 112A of the portable computing device 100 so that theEC manager module 26 may access the table 510 with this pre-loaded data.Whether or not the EC manager module 26 may produce the data listed intable 510 depends on the amount and the location of current sensors 157Bprovided within the portable computing device 100. In some instances,too many electrical current sensors 157B may be cost prohibitive asunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art. If electrical currentsensors 157B are provided, the EC manager module 26 may communicate toreceive data from the sensors 157B.

FIG. 6 is a graph 600 which illustrates the state of charge of a battery188 of a portable computing device projected along the X-axis againstachievable current maximums projected on the Y-axis. The graph 600 ofFIG. 6 also comprises the electrical current levels referenced in table500 of FIG. 5.

Graph 600 is very similar to graph 400 in that it also contains thefirst curve 405 which tracks data associated with the battery 188operating at a first temperature. Graph 400 also has the second curve410 of FIG. 4 which tracks data associated with the same battery 188operating at a second temperature. In the exemplary embodimentillustrated in FIG. 6, the first temperature comprises 25° C. while thesecond temperature comprises 0° C.

The graph 600 illustrates how the highest level for a battery 188operating at the second temperature of 0° C. tracked by the second curvemay only reach level 4. This level 4 of graph 600 corresponds with level4 of table 500 and FIG. 5.

The EC manager module 26 computes instantaneous electrical current usingohms law which is embodied in equation 1 (EQ1) provided below:I(max)=(Ocv−Vmin)/Rbat  (EQ1)

wherein I(max) is the instantaneous maximum electrical current; Ocv isthe open circuit voltage of the battery 188, which is a function of thestate of charge (“SoC”) of the battery 188; Vmin is the minimum voltageof the battery 188 needed to support operation of the PCD 100 (i.e., ifthe battery voltage drops below this level, a voltage regulator on thePCD power grid may begin to operate outside of specification leading toa reset of the PCD 100); and Rbat is the impedance of the battery 188.

The EC manager module 26 computes what maximum current (Imax) may besupported by the portable computing device 100 based on thecharacteristics of the battery 188. Most battery manufacturers willprovide some characteristics about the battery 188 and how they maychange across operating states, like how impedance of the battery 188may change over time due to various factors such as temperature. Thisinformation may be used by the EC manager module 26 to calculate thestate of charge at a particular instant in time for the portablecomputing device 100.

From the state of charge (Soc) parameter, the EC manager module 26 maycalculate the open voltage (Ocv) which can be supported by the battery188. Also from the state of charge and the battery characteristics, themaximum current (Imax) that may be supported at any given instant oftime may be calculated by the EC manager module 26. Based on thecalculated electrical current maximum (Imax), the EC manager module 26may issue commands to throttle hardware elements accordingly.

Referring back to table 500 FIG. 5, the EC manager module 26 iscalculating the present electrical current maximum (Imax) and comparingits calculated Imax value to the minimum current level listed in column520 of table 500 (which levels are also plotted in graph 600 of FIG. 6).Based on the user scenarios listed for a particular level, the ECmanager module 26 will activate and/or deactivate hardware elementscorresponding to the user scenarios listed in table 500 for a particularoperating level.

As noted previously, the EC manager module 26 may reside or be executedby the resource power manager (RPM) 180 as illustrated in FIG. 2. TheRPM 180 is typically embodied by an ARM processor as understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art. If not residing in an ARM, the EC managermodule 26 may reside within or be executed by a processor 110 which doesnot usually enter into a sleep state. However, according to otherexemplary embodiments, it is possible that the EC manager module may beexecuted by an ordinary central processing unit 110 or an applicationsprocessor 110 that on occasion may enter into a sleep state, but suchembodiments would likely be less preferred.

Referring now to FIG. 7, this figure comprises a bar chart 700 thatillustrates at least three different types of electrical consumers thatmay be categorized within a portable computing device 100 by the ECmanager module 26. A first set of electrical consumers may be designatedwith a high priority such as those designated with the letter “A” asillustrated in FIG. 7.

A second set of electrical consumers may be designated with a mediumpriority such as with the letter “B.” A third set of electricalconsumers may be designated with a low priority such as with the letter“C.”

Each priority may be assigned a particular weighting which may berepresented mathematically. Further, one of ordinary skill in the artrecognizes that the number of sets or categories of electrical consumerswithin a portable computing device 100 may be increased or decreasedwithout departing from the scope of the disclosure described herein.

The functions/features/operations assigned to a particular set orcategory may be adjusted depending upon desired priorities by theoperator of the portable computing device 100. For example, an operatorof the portable computing device 100 who is primarily interested inrecording video and less interested in gaming may assign video recordingwith a higher priority relative to gaming, which may be assigned a lowerpriority as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

According to one exemplary embodiment, the level “A” type of electricalconsumers may correspond to different levels for supporting voice callsin a portable computing device 100. The lowest level (A1) within thistype of electrical consumer may comprise supporting voice calls in anemergency 911 (“E911”) situation. The highest level within this set orclass of priority may comprise level A3 in which voice and data may betransmitted simultaneously.

Meanwhile, at the next level within category “A” hardware elements, suchas the level A2, only voice calls may be supported and not data asunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art. And as noted above, theAl level may only be limited to E911 type calls.

The medium priority functions and/or features assigned to the letter “B”category may comprise video gaming in which performance may be adjustedwithout degrading perceivable quality of service (“QoS”) by the user.For example, response time, updates, and how things are encoded may bemay be reduced without any perceivable degradations in QoS.

The lowest priority functions and/or features assigned to the letter “C”category may comprise operations such as a camcorder. Performance of thecamcorder may be adjusted such that the number of frames per second maybe reduced during recording in order to conserve electrical current.

Referring now to FIG. 8, this figure has a graph 800 which illustratesinstantaneous current plotted on the y-axis versus time on the x-axis inaddition to present consumption of categories of electrical consumersillustrated in FIG. 7. Graph 800 illustrates how electrical currentwithin a portable computing device 100 is consumed over time.

Between time 0 in time T1, an operator of the portable computing device100 may power up the device and initiate a voice phone call as indicatedby current levels A1 plus A2. The electrical current levels representedby A1 plus A2 fall well below the instantaneous current maximum trackedby curve 805 of FIG. 8.

Next, between times T1 and T2, the voice call as represented byelectrical current levels A1 plus A2 may continue while current levelsC1 plus C2 plus C3 may be added to correspond with the operator of theportable computing device 100 desiring to power up the camcorder so thatvideo may be recorded while he or she is conducting the telephone call.Since the electrical current level of A1 plus A2 plus C1 plus C2 plus C3fall below the instantaneous current maximum corresponding to curve 805,then these features/functions may be permitted to function by the ECmanager module 26 after the EC manager module 26 determines that thesefeatures/functions do not exceed the present electrical current leveltracked by curve 805.

Between times T2 and T3, the voice call has been terminated, therefore,blocks A1 and A2 representing a voice call have been removed from thegraph 800. Meanwhile, during times T2 and T3, the operator of theportable computing device may have continued with the video recording asrepresented by electrical current level blocks C1 plus C2 plus C3 whileinitiating a video game application program that is represented by theelectrical current levels of B1 through B5.

Since the sum of C1 through C3 and B1 through B5 electrical currentlevels is less than the present instantaneous present electrical currentlevel represented by curve 805, then the EC manager module 26 may permitthese functions/features to operate without any conditions (freely).Between times T3 and T4, as the instantaneous electrical current levelcontinues to drop as represented by curve 805, then the EC managermodule 26 may need to impose conditions or degrade the quality ofservice for particular functions and/or features in order to conserveelectrical current.

For example, between times T3 and T4, while the operator of the portablecomputing device 100 continues to record with the camcorderfeatures/functions, the EC manager module 26 may have reduced therecording level of the camcorder in which current level block C3 hasbeen removed. According to this particular embodiment, the EC managermodule 26 may have instructed the camcorder to reduce the number offrames it was recording per second.

Meanwhile, during the same time window between time T3 and T4, the videogaming feature is maintained at its previous current levels asrepresented by electrical current level blocks B1 through B5. As notedpreviously, video gaming as described in connection with FIG. 7 wasassigned a higher priority at level “B” relative to level “C” categoryof the camcorder function/feature.

Next, between times T4 and T5, the operator of the portable computingdevice 100 decides to initiate a voice and data transmission isrepresented by electrical current level blocks A1 through A3. Sincevoice and data transmissions have a higher priority at the “A” levelrelative to the “B” level of video gaming and “C” level of camcorderrecording, then the electrical current levels for the video gaming andthe camcorder recording are reduced by the EC manager module 26 duringthis time period.

This downward change during the time period between time T4 and T5 isrepresented by blocks C1 and B1 which were changed from electricalcurrent levels B1-B5 and C1-C2 during time period T3 and T4,respectively. The electrical current levels for the “B” and “C” categoryfunctions/features were changed during time period T4 and T5 in adownward manner in order to accommodate the higher priority voice anddata transmissions as represented by electrical current level blocksA1-A3. The management by the EC manager module 26 of the functions andfeatures of the portable computing device 100 continues similarly fortime periods from T5 through T7 as understood by one of ordinary skillthe art.

FIG. 9 is a logical flowchart illustrating a method 900 for managingelectrical current levels within a portable computing device 100. Block905 is the first step of method 900. In block 905, the EC manager module26 may assign hardware and/or software elements to two or more groups inwhich each group may have its respective priority level. For example, asdiscussed above in connection with FIG. 7, the EC manager module 26 mayassign voice calls according to a level “A” priority while gamingfunctions are assigned to a level “B” priority in which the level “B”priority is lower relative to the level “A” priority and so on. The ECmanager module 26 may perform these assignments automatically and adjustthese assignments periodically. Alternatively, the EC manager module 26may be provided with these assignments from preloaded memory 112Acreated at the factory for the PCD 100. In other exemplary embodiments,an operator of the portable computing device 100 may be provided withoptions for selecting how hardware and/or software elements are assignedpriority by the EC manager module 26.

Next, in block 910, the EC manager module 26 may monitor individualelectrical current levels of hardware elements assigned to higherpriority levels. For example, as described above in connection with FIG.7, the EC manager module 26 may monitor the current levels of allhardware elements assigned to the highest priority level “A” category.Meanwhile, the EC manager module 26 may only track an estimated amountof electrical current levels for those hardware elements assigned to thelower categories, such as the level “B” category and the level “C”category. The EC manager module 26 is not limited to monitoringindividual hardware elements of a single category/priority/class. The ECmanager module 26 is capable of monitoring electrical current levels ofindividual hardware elements for all categories/priorities as well asvarious combinations of categories/priorities.

Next, in block 915, the EC manager module 26 may estimate an electricalcurrent level for one or more second groups based on software requestsissued to various hardware elements. In other words, the EC managermodule 26 may estimate electrical current levels for those hardwareelements of the PCD 100 which may be assigned to lower priority groups,such as the “B” and “C” category groups illustrated in FIG. 7 anddescribed above.

In block 920, the EC manager module 26 may calculate the instantaneouselectrical current level of the PCD 100 based on its current chargestatus. In this block 920, the EC manager module 26 may be utilizing thedata illustrated in graph 600 of FIG. 6. The EC manager module 26 maydetermine the current operating temperature of the PCD 100 and thenutilize charge data corresponding to the appropriate curve 405, 410. TheEC manager module 26 also utilizes EQ1 described above once it hasobtained data for all of the variables needed to solve this EQ1 forinstantaneous electrical current levels.

In block 925, the EC manager module 26 may compare the calculatedinstantaneous electrical current level from block 920 with the monitoredelectrical current levels from block 910 and the estimated electricalcurrent levels from block 915. All of these electrical current levelsmay be stored in the database 112B. Specifically, in this block 925, theEC manager module 26 compares the calculated instantaneous electricalcurrent level with the minimum current level column 520 and theoperation level column 510 tabulated in table 500 of FIG. 5. Based onthe use cases listed in column 515, the EC manager module 26 thenreviews the electrical current levels of the various hardware elementsof the various groups.

In block 930, the EC manager module 26 may adjust operation of thehardware elements of the first and second groups in order to keepoperation of the PCD 100 below the estimated electoral current maximumcalculated in block 920. The EC manager module 26 may then issuecommands to various hardware elements through the resource power manager180 that correspond with the use cases listed in column 515 of table500. The hardware commands issued by the EC manager module 26 mayinclude, but are not limited to, those such as “high,” “low,” “medium,”“level 1,” “level 2,” “level 3, “turbo,” “non-turbo,” etc. etc. Suchcommands may be characterized as ones of degree relative to theoperation of the hardware element. The process 900 then returns.

As understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, the EC manager 26 mayadjust the relative electrical current level of the PCD 100 up or down.All of the examples described above show cases where the battery 188 isdraining. If the PCD 100 is connected to a charger or other type ofpower device, then the EC manager 188 may relax the operation and allowone or more groups to operate at a higher electrical current consuminglevel.

Certain steps in the processes or process flows described in thisspecification naturally precede others for the invention to function asdescribed. However, the invention is not limited to the order of thesteps described if such order or sequence does not alter thefunctionality of the invention. That is, it is recognized that somesteps may performed before, after, or parallel (substantiallysimultaneously with) other steps without departing from the scope andspirit of the invention. In some instances, certain steps may be omittedor not performed without departing from the invention. Further, wordssuch as “thereafter”, “then”, “next”, “subsequently”, etc. are notintended to limit the order of the steps. These words are simply used toguide the reader through the description of the exemplary method.

Additionally, one of ordinary skill in programming is able to writecomputer code or identify appropriate hardware and/or circuits toimplement the disclosed invention without difficulty based on the flowcharts and associated description in this specification, for example.Therefore, disclosure of a particular set of program code instructionsor detailed hardware devices is not considered necessary for an adequateunderstanding of how to make and use the invention. The inventivefunctionality of the claimed computer implemented processes is explainedin more detail in the above description and in conjunction with thedrawings, which may illustrate various process flows.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereofIf implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readablemedium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. A storage media may be anyavailable media that may be accessed by a computer. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM,EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used tocarry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that may be accessed by a computer.

Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. Forexample, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or otherremote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,digital subscriber line (“DSL”), or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber opticcable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared,radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.

Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (“CD”), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (“DVD”), floppy disk and blu-raydisc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discsreproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above shouldalso be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

Therefore, although selected aspects have been illustrated and describedin detail, it will be understood that various substitutions andalterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention, as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for managing electrical current within aportable computing device (“PCD”), the method comprising: assigning aplurality of hardware elements of the PCD to one of two groups, whereina first group of the two groups is a high priority group, and a secondgroup of the two groups is a low priority group; monitoring individualelectrical current levels of the first group; estimating an electricalcurrent level of the second group; calculating an instantaneouselectrical current level for the PCD based on a current charge statusfor the PCD; comparing the calculated instantaneous electrical currentlevel to the monitored individual electrical current levels of the firstgroup and the estimated electrical current level of the second group;and adjusting operation of at least one hardware element based on thecomparison to keep operation of the PCD below the calculatedinstantaneous electrical current level for the PCD, wherein comparingthe calculated instantaneous electrical current level to the monitoredindividual electrical current levels and estimated electrical currentlevel further comprises comparing the calculated instantaneouselectrical current level to the sum of the monitored individualelectrical current levels of the first group and the estimatedelectrical current level of the second group.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein estimating an electrical current level for the second groupfurther comprises estimating based on requests issued to hardwareelements of the second group.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising comparing the calculated instantaneous electrical currentlevel to minimum current levels listed in a table, the table furthercomprising use cases for the PCD.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinadjusting operation of at least one hardware element further comprisesissuing at least one command to the hardware element.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the at least one command comprises one of a pluralityof power consuming states for the hardware element.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein each of the first group and the second group has anassigned priority level.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning aplurality of hardware elements of the PCD to one of two groups is madeaccording to input received from an operator of the PCD.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein at least one hardware element comprises a multicoreprocessor.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein each level of the firstgroup and the second group has an assigned priority level.
 10. Acomputer system for managing electrical current within a portablecomputing device (“PCD”), the system comprising: a processor configuredto: assign a plurality of hardware elements of the PCD to one of twogroups, wherein a first group of the two groups is a high prioritygroup, and a second group of the two groups is a low priority group;monitor individual electrical current levels of the first group;estimate an electrical current level of the second group; calculate aninstantaneous electrical current level for the PCD based on a currentcharge status for the PCD; compare the calculated instantaneouselectrical current level to the monitored individual electrical currentlevels of the first group and the estimated electrical current level ofthe second group; and adjust operation of at least one hardware elementbased on the comparison to keep operation of the PCD below thecalculated instantaneous electrical current level for the PCD, whereinthe processor being configured to compare the calculated instantaneouselectrical current level to the monitored individual electrical currentlevels of the first group and the estimated electrical current level ofthe second group further comprises the processor being configured tocompare the calculated instantaneous electrical current level to the sumof the monitored individual electrical current levels of the first groupand the estimated electrical current level of the second group.
 11. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein estimating the electrical current level forthe second group further comprises estimating based on requests issuedto hardware elements of the second group.
 12. The system of claim 10,wherein the processor is further configured to: compare the calculatedinstantaneous electrical current level to minimum current levels listedin a table, the table further comprising use cases for the PCD.
 13. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein adjusting operation of at least one hardwareelement further comprises issuing at least one command to the hardwareelement.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one commandcomprises one of a plurality of power consuming states for the operationof the hardware element.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein each of thefirst group and the second group has an assigned priority level.
 16. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein assigning a plurality of hardware elementsof the PCD to one of two groups is made according to input received froman operator of the PCD.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein at least onehardware element comprises a multicore processor.
 18. The system ofclaim 10, wherein each level of the first group and the second group hasan assigned priority level.
 19. A computer system for managing one ormore memory resources of a wireless handheld computing device, thesystem comprising: means for assigning a plurality of hardware elementsof the PCD to one of two groups wherein a first group of the two groupsis a high priority group, and a second group of the two groups is a lowpriority group; means for monitoring individual electrical currentlevels of the first group; means for estimating an electrical currentlevel of the second group; means for calculating an instantaneouselectrical current level for the PCD based on a current charge statusfor the PCD; means for comparing the calculated instantaneous electricalcurrent level to the monitored individual electrical current levels ofthe first group and the estimated electrical current level of the secondgroup; and means for adjusting operation of at least one hardwareelement based on the comparison to keep operation of the PCD below thecalculated instantaneous electrical current level for the PCD, whereinthe means for comparing the calculated instantaneous electrical currentlevel to the monitored individual electrical current levels of the firstgroup and the estimated electrical current level of the second groupfurther comprises comparing the calculated instantaneous electricalcurrent level to the sum of the monitored individual electrical currentlevels of the first group and the estimated current level of the secondgroup.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the means for estimating anelectrical current level for the second group further comprisesestimating based on requests issued to hardware elements of the secondgroup.
 21. The system of claim 19, further comprising: means forcomparing the calculated instantaneous electrical current level tominimum current levels listed in a table, the table further comprisinguse cases for the PCD.
 22. The system of claim 19, wherein the means foradjusting operation of at least one hardware element further comprisesmeans for issuing at least one command to the hardware element.
 23. Thesystem of claim 22, wherein the at least one command comprises one of aplurality of power consuming states for the operation of the hardwareelement.
 24. The system of claim 19, wherein each of the first group andthe second group has an assigned priority level.
 25. The system of claim19, wherein the means for assigning a plurality of hardware elements ofthe PCD to one of two groups assesses input received from an operator ofthe PCD.
 26. The system of claim 19, wherein at least one hardwareelement comprises a multicore processor.
 27. The system of claim 19,wherein each level of the first group and the second group has anassigned priority level.
 28. A computer program product comprising acomputer usable device having a computer readable program code embodiedtherein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed toimplement a method for managing electrical current within a portablecomputing device (“PCD”), said method comprising: assigning a pluralityof hardware elements of the PCD to one of two groups, wherein a firstgroup of the two groups is a high priority group, and a second group ofthe two groups is a low priority group; monitoring individual electricalcurrent levels of the first group; estimating an electrical currentlevel of the second group; calculating an instantaneous electricalcurrent level for the PCD based on a current charge status for the PCD;comparing the calculated instantaneous electrical current level to themonitored individual electrical current levels of the first group andthe estimated electrical current level of the second group; andadjusting operation of at least one hardware element based on thecomparison to keep operation of the PCD below the calculatedinstantaneous electrical current level for the PCD, wherein comparingthe calculated instantaneous electrical current level to the monitoredindividual electrical current levels of the first group and theestimated electrical current level of the second group further comprisescomparing the calculated instantaneous electrical current level to thesum of the monitored individual electrical current levels of the firstgroup and the estimated electrical current level of the second group.29. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein estimating theelectrical current level for the second group further comprisesestimating based on requests issued to hardware elements of the secondgroup.
 30. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein the programcode implementing the method further comprises: comparing the calculatedinstantaneous electrical current level minimum current levels listed ina table, the table further comprising use cases for the PCD.
 31. Thecomputer program product of claim 28, wherein adjusting operation of atleast one hardware element further comprises issuing at least onecommand to the hardware element.
 32. The computer program product ofclaim 31, wherein the at least one command comprises one of a pluralityof power consuming states for the operation of the hardware element. 33.The computer program product of claim 28, wherein each of the firstgroup and the second group has an assigned priority level.
 34. Thecomputer program product of claim 28, wherein assigning a plurality ofhardware elements of the PCD to one of two groups is made according toinput received from an operator of the PCD.
 35. The computer programproduct of claim 28, wherein at least one hardware element comprises amulticore processor.
 36. The computer program product of claim 28,wherein each level of the first group and the second group has anassigned priority level.